Rating of
3/4
Brilliant Until the Last Thirty Minutes
Franz Patrick - wrote on 03/01/08
"2001: A Space Odyssey" definately influenced this film. From the stalled silences to the flashing of faces on the screen for a millisecond, this reeks of grand science fiction. The Achilles' heel of this film is the last thirty minutes. In the attempt to increase the tension as the characters reach the sun, it hybridized with the horror genre. Unfortunately, it didn't work for a few reasons. One, the supposed villain did not have any sort of background and we can barely see his appearance (at times the Not Seeing Villain technique works but it did not in this instance). Two, the film did not need any more tension because it was exciting enough. Although some awkward camera angles and shots did work, most of them didn't because they greatly contrasted with the elegance of the first hour and a half. The last thirty minutes was simply excessive and it took away some of the much needed focus. Overall, watching this film was an exhilarating experience.
